1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to hand-held portable electronic devices, and in particular but not exclusively, relates to a mouse and keyboard for a hand-held portable computer having a small form factor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern desktop computers provide users with user-input mechanisms that are well suited for the applications that run on these computers. For example, desktop computers often use an external peripheral mouse that allows the user to conveniently navigate through menus, panes, and features of an application, as well as allowing navigation between applications and selection of various choices (usually via a “point and click” or a “click and drag”) within a given application. Moreover, applications usually provide complex, yet convenient, graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are designed to work in conjunction with the point and click features of a mouse or with particular keys on a keyboard of the desktop computer.
The nature of desktop computers makes them ideal for using user-input devices such as an external peripheral mouse and/or keyboard. There is usually sufficient desktop space or keyboard size to allow the user to easily navigate through an application or to select from various choices, without having to struggle with finger dexterity issues and awkward positioning. However, with laptop computers, a common complaint from users is that the keyboard is too small or that the mouse is difficult to control. The user has to “crowd” his fingers in order to properly use and select the appropriate keys on the cramped keyboard, and has to use a mouse that is more difficult to use because it is physically integrated within the keyboard, rather than being an attached external peripheral that can be conveniently used at arm's length away from the keyboard.
While laptops do have these disadvantages, they are, for the most part, adequate in terms of navigation and selection controls (via the mouse and keyboard). However, with ultra-portable devices, such devices typically have a substantially smaller form factor than a laptop or desktop computer. Their keyboards are significantly smaller than normal laptops and desktop computers, with “tiny” keys on the keypad. The keypads are of such a small size that the user can typically use only one or two fingers at a time to perform typing, or to perform clicking and dragging with a mouse integrated on the keyboard. This small keyboard size thus results in a very inconvenient user input mechanism.
Moreover, these devices also have a correspondingly and significantly smaller display screen size. The small display screen size, coupled with the small keyboard size, makes use of a mouse for navigation and selection extremely difficult. First, it is difficult for the user to see the “arrow” or cursor (representing the mouse) on the small display screen. Second, it is difficult to provide mouse functionality on the keyboard itself, due to the small size of the keyboard. Even if a mouse were integrated into the keyboard of a small hand-held device in a manner similar to conventional laptop computers, the mouse would be difficult to maneuver or otherwise control with a single fingertip. Imagine the awkwardness, for instance, of trying to hold the portable device with the left hand, while trying to maneuver the mouse with a fingertip from the right hand.